Emma Thompson at Locarno

Emma Thompson speaks at Locarno about a Trump call, the Monica Lewinsky moment, and her career highlights as she receives the Leopard Club Award.

Emma Thompson at Locarno discusses Trump call and career

Emma Thompson graced the Locarno Piazza Grande to receive the Leopard Club Award and to share stories from four decades in film and stage. The talk touched on a rare mix of light humor and sharp memory, including her recollection of a phone call from Donald Trump during the shooting of Primary Colors and how the moment intersected with a difficult personal time. She also referenced her brief foray into the Harry Potter films and reflected on her stand up days, using jokes to look at issues like sexual education and gender. The festival audience saw her discuss Dead of Winter, an action thriller she stars in and executive produces, which premiered during the festival.

Thompson also spoke about the Lewinsky scandal as it unfolded during Primary Colors and what it felt like to work under the real life political context. She noted the emotional undercurrents of making a film about a real event when those events are playing out in the world. In her remarks about women and power, she urged audiences to see the heroic acts of women living in patriarchy, a line that drew both laughter and reflection from the crowd.

The evening was less a traditional film chat than a portrait of a star using storytelling as a diagnostic tool for culture. Thompson’s anecdotes reveal how fame carries the burden of memory, and how humor can soften troubled history without erasing it. Locarno’s platform allows an artist to blend confession with career milestones, turning a red carpet moment into a conversation about influence, aging, and gender politics in cinema. The episode also highlights how public figures and blockbuster franchises shape an actor’s public persona while inviting scrutiny of the choices they have made and those they have refused to reveal.

Highlights

Locarno remains a stage where legacy and new work intersect without pretending the world stands still.